The San Saba news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1873-1966, 1887-06-24
AGRICULTURAL.
TOPICS OF INTEREST RELATIVE
TO FARM AND GARDEN.
FattenInc HOGS

IL IS the part of good farmer to con
duct all his operations on the best and
least expensive plan His chief profits
arise from doing things at the right time,
IN the best manner. and with the least
pos able expense. In nothing does this
sho" itselt more plainly thanin fattening
OF hogs.
The most important point in this di
rection is to begin SO early in the fall
that MS hogs will be ready for the knife
as soon as the weather is cold enough for
saltlng and curing pork-it being well
established fact that hogs will fatteu
1aster and on less food when the weather
Is mild than when it is excessively cold
As striking example Of this, from ar
experiment made last fall at the " iscon
sin Experimental Farm. it was found
that Il lot Of hogs weighed and shut up
to iatten on the tenth day of October,
and weighed again on the twenty third
day OF November, just forty-four day,
had gained ten pounds each for every
bushel of corn each had eaten. They
were again weighed Just forty-four days
thereafter, when it was found that they
had only gained four pounds each for
every bushel Of corn each had eaten, thus
going TO show that hog will gain more
than double as much on the same amount
OF food when the weather is mild as it
Will when the weather is intensely cold.
In tins respect the animal system is like
a stove the colder the weather the more
fuel tfood)it requires to keep up the in
ternal heat, for let the weather be as cold
as il will. the temperature of the body
must be kept up to the normal
point Of ninety-eight degrees, and
# the food is not more than
sufficient to supply this, there will
be none to 60 to the formation Of fat
hence the colder the weather the larger
the consumption of food. A barrel of
corn IN the latter rart Of October and
first half of November, as shown above,
Will 90 as far and put on as much fat as
will two barrels in December and Janu-
AIRY, because it requires but half As much
TO keep up the animal heat. In other
words, the loss of heat from the animals
body is then small. and therefore the
less food is required to keep it up.
For fattening purposes there isnothing
so good as corr, as it is richer in oily
matter than any other cereal or vegetable
substance used for the purpose A plenty
of charcoal during the time is also
especially useful, in that it corrects the
acidity to which the stomach of 4 hog is
so subject when fed exclusively on corn.
Complete quietude is also matter of
the first importance, as it is well known
that an animal in confinement will fatten
much faster than one whose liberty is not
sorestricted as to prevent him from taking
too much physical exercise. Muscular
exertion increases respiration and accel-
crates the flow of blood, which, as it
passes through the lungs, becomes
charged with atmospheric oxygen, and
which latter introduced more freely
burns ont the fat. Hence it is that in
confinement as soon as a hog begins to
fatten the less inclined he is for physical
exercise, and consequently accumulates
fat the faster In other words, the faster
he grows the more sluggish he becomes
aud the more rapidly he take on fat
y1lf more lSgD